But Ms Dickinson was joined by John Rogers, chief financial officer of Sainsbury’s, and John Allan, the chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), in claiming it failed to address fundamental problems.

“High street retailers already contribute disproportionately to funding local services," said Mr Rogers, who is chairman of the BRC’s business rates group, said. "Any further increase in business rates paid by supermarkets would inevitably contribute to higher food prices for consumers.

The councils, which include authorities run by all three main parties, say their plan is a “modest attempt” to “recirculate” money from supermarket profits within their own communities.

But a spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said it had rejected a previous scheme and remained opposed to the idea because price rises would “hit low-income families the hardest”.

Mr Allan, of the FSB, said rates were pushing many small businesses “to the brink”, even though they would not be affected by the current proposals.

He said: “What we currently have is a system that takes no account of ability to pay, or changes to economic conditions. The FSB wants to see a level playing field for all businesses, and that means starting from scratch.”

The comments come after experts said Big Four supermarkets were losing £100m a year propping up their online delivery services – effectively paying their customers to use them.

Retail analyst Dave McCarthy told Channel 4’s Dispatches programme, which will air tonight, that firms are charging £3 or £4 for home deliveries which actually cost £20.